If ever there was a time for Novak Djokovic to shake off his troubles and share a dance with his son and daughter, it was after being tested to his limit against Alex de Minaur in the fourth round of Wimbledon on Monday.
The Serb battled through a four-set fight against the Australian 11th seed on Centre Court, eventually finding a way to secure a 1-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 win after more than three hours of play.
But despite looking both physically and mentally exhausted after match point, Djokovic still had the energy to perform a new celebratory dance with his children who were watching on from the stands. Son Stefan was seen joining him in the movement after outlasting de Minaur.
The dance – reportedly inspired by a 2004 song by Danzel – has found new popularity during this year’s Wimbledon, with the 24-time grand slam champion performing it with his children after winning his matches.
The moves involve Djokovic pumping his fists down, then to the left, then the right, and finally up to the sky.
His daughter Tara stole the show after her dad’s third-round win on Saturday, pushing herself to the front of the stands to perform the “pump it up” dance moves while Djokovic was being interviewed.
“It’s called ‘pumpa’ in our language and ‘pump it up’ in English. There’s a song with my kids,” Djokovic explained on Saturday.
“And look, my daughter is doing it right now,” Djokovic continued, as the camera turned to Tara. “You want to show it, darling? You want to show how it goes?”
Tara gave a shrug with a smile and proceeded to demonstrate, drawing delight from the crowd.
“She’s the master,” Djokovic said. “It’s a little tradition we have right now so hopefully we can keep going so we can keep pumping more in Wimbledon.”
Danzel, the artist behind the song, posted a video of Djokovic explaining the dance on Instagram, saying it was an “honor” to have inspired the new celebration.
Djokovic struggles through win
There were plenty of times during Monday’s match when it looked as though Djokovic would be unable to perform his new dance craze.
Djokovic looked way off his best in the opening exchanges and struggled initially to get to grips with the gusty conditions on court.
The first set was particularly puzzling, with de Minaur breaking Djokovic’s serve three times to take a one-set lead in the match.
The start of the second was equally erratic, with both players breaking each other’s serve in quick succession – the set also involved an energy-depleting game that lasted 24 minutes alone.
The 38-year-old Djokovic started to grow frustrated by the close of the second set after the net seemed to help de Minaur on several occasions, but all that angst and tension flew out of Djokovic in an almighty roar to his team after he wrapped up the second set.
It then looked as though the seven-time Wimbledon champion had found his form, winning the third set and taking a huge step toward the next round. But de Minaur came racing back at the start of the fourth to break Djokovic’s serve early on.
With many expecting the match to go into a deciding set, Djokovic upped his level and broke back twice to fight his way into the quarterfinals.
“(De Minaur) is so good,” Djokovic said during his post-match interview on court. “He’s one of the quickest, if not the quickest player we have on the tour and on the grass, where the ball bounces very low. It’s extremely difficult to play someone like him if you’re not feeling the ball.
“I was just very pleased to hang tough in the right moments and win this one.”
Roger Federer in attendance
Djokovic also had the added pressure of playing in front of tennis legend Roger Federer, who was the special guest in the Royal Box.
The 43-year-old smiled as Djokovic gave him a special shoutout during his interview – the Serb is bidding to equal Federer’s men’s record of eight Wimbledon titles in this year’s tournament.
“I think this is probably the first time he’s watched me and I’ve won the match,” Djokovic joked.
“The last couple I’ve lost but it’s great to have Roger here. A huge champion and someone I admire and respect a lot.”
Djokovic will now look to recover from Monday’s grueling encounter before facing Flavio Cobolli in the next round.
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